Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: True Six Harmonies
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“That just now……”
At Cheonhwi's low murmur, Hyeondo snapped out of it and spread his hand in a stunned expression.
He had stopped swinging the sword long ago, yet the sensation he felt when executing the Six Harmonies Sword Art lingered in his palm.
“Six Harmonies Sword Art?”
He whispered it as a question, but deep down, he had unconsciously realized it.
The sword art he had just performed was the true Six Harmonies Sword Art.
Whoosh—
He turned his head and looked at Cheonhwi.
Cheonhwi, watching him, had slung the wooden sword over his shoulder with a bored expression.
A far cry from his previously polite demeanor—now thoroughly arrogant.
Yet it suited the current Cheonhwi perfectly.
“Isn't it?”
At Cheonhwi's confident follow-up, Hyeondo trembled, unable to utter a word, his sword-gripping hand shaking.
This lasted for a moment.
“Yes, you're right.”
Surprisingly, Hyeondo admitted it readily.
No, he had no choice but to.
The Six Harmonies Sword Art he had followed Cheonhwi in performing was in no way inferior to the other advanced sword arts of the sect.
‘No, perhaps……’
Hyeondo swallowed hard and asked.
“How did you think to swing the Six Harmonies Sword Art in such a way?”
Cheonhwi looked at him.
The anger and shouting from moments ago had vanished completely.
All that remained were serious eyes.
Unexpected?
The corner of Cheonhwi's mouth curved up slightly.
Even if someone younger or weaker was right, it wasn't easy to admit it so straightforwardly.
Especially for a kid like him, without internal energy and only fourteen.
He'd thought they were all rigid sticklers for the dao here.
Pfft. He let out a chuckle.
He liked the look in Hyeondo's eyes.
The eyes he used to see in the mirror every day.
‘The eyes of one obsessed with martial arts.’
Cheonhwi lifted the wooden sword from his shoulder and turned the question back to Hyeondo.
“Why did your martial uncle tell you to take a different stance for every single form?”
Hyeondo looked at the questioning Cheonhwi and replied softly.
“The foundation of all martial arts is stance. Without proper stance, you can't draw out the right power.”
Cheonhwi's brow furrowed.
The moment he saw the martial arts manuals in the Ten Thousand Scriptures Pavilion, he had anticipated this.
They trusted the manuals completely.
That was why there had been no progress in three hundred years.
‘Outdated words.’
Of course, when you knew nothing, just imitating yielded quick results.
But blindly following what was taught prevented unleashing true power.
‘If something feels off, you change it.’
He looked at Hyeondo with a pitiful expression.
But Cheonhwi didn't know.
The Demonic Cult and the orthodox sects were different.
In the Cult, as long as results came, changing martial arts was fine.
But in the orthodox sects, arbitrarily altering sect martial arts was a sin of destroying the sect's legacy, punishable by death.
Moreover, Hyeondo was proud of Mount Hua Sect; he immersed himself in training without ever doubting the arts he learned.
For such a Hyeondo to call inherited martial arts flawed and change them on a whim?
Impossible, unless he fell into qi deviation and went mad one day.
Unaware of this, Cheonhwi stared at Hyeondo and said.
“No martial art I know has forms executed separately without connection. Yet this Six Harmonies Sword Art acts like completely different sword arts playing independently.”
“The 'six harmonies' of Six Harmonies Sword Art refer to the six directions: front-back, left-right, up-down, unified into one sword art. Thus, the forms are detached and don't connect smoothly……”
Hyeondo paused briefly, his eyes sinking deeply.
After a moment, he fixed Cheonhwi with a sharp gaze and spoke.
“You changed that. Made them connect as one.”
Cheonhwi's eyes lit up as he listened.
‘He has firm conviction.’
He was growing on him.
His mindset and martial perspective were outdated, but he had tenacity.
And passion for martial arts.
“Six directions…… That makes sense. But I thought differently about the six harmonies contained in the Six Harmonies Sword Art.”
“What do you mean?”
Hyeondo's eyes grew serious.
Smooth—
Cheonhwi raised his wooden sword.
“There are many ways to teach swinging the sword in six directions. No need to overcomplicate—just repeat swinging like this.”
The wooden sword moved in six directions.
It was the original Six Harmonies Sword Art.
“So why create the Six Harmonies Sword Art specifically? It's unnecessary if it's just to teach six directional stances.”
Hyeondo furrowed his brow, pondered briefly, and spoke.
“Because it's a basic sword art. Since ancient times, it's said that to wield sword arts properly, one must realize the unity of form and principle. Knowing theory and principle without knowing how to swing the sword, or vice versa, means even advanced sword arts can't be executed properly.”
Hyeondo's voice lowered further.
“The Six Harmonies Sword Art is a basic sword art to solve that, awakening how to swing the sword in preparation for realizing the principles and theories in advanced sword arts.”
“Does that mean the Six Harmonies Sword Art contains no principles?”
“That's……”
Hyeondo's face twisted.
Principles in Six Harmonies Sword Art?
He had never thought of it.
Naturally, as it was a basic sword art learned before advanced ones.
By the time one realized principles and could wield properly, focus shifted solely to advanced sword arts.
Cheonhwi spoke to the deeply troubled Hyeondo.
“The Six Harmonies Sword Art I saw contains principles. Who in the world would call mere sword swinging without principle a sword art?”
Hyeondo's mind grew complicated from arguing with Cheonhwi.
“I performed it assuming the Six Harmonies Sword Art was complete from the start. But when I did, focusing on stances made transitions between forms awkward. So first, I thought about how to link them, and one method came to mind.”
Hyeondo asked eagerly.
“What method?”
Cheonhwi grinned.
“I said it earlier.”
“What……”
“That I thought of the six harmonies differently.”
In that instant, Cheonhwi's wooden sword changed.
The rigid, choppy swings became supple like reeds, seamlessly merging the six forms into one.
“By fusing all six forms into one like this.”
“……!”
Hyeondo's eyes widened like saucers.
The six harmonies had dual meanings.
Six and one.
One and six.
Directions and forms.
Fused into one then separated, the links became natural.
‘Such principles in the six harmonies!’
He stared at Cheonhwi in shock.
A sword art practiced by hundreds of thousands over centuries.
Yet no one had reinterpreted 'six harmonies' like Cheonhwi.
Most moved on to advanced arts, perhaps.
But even so.
‘To uncover the meaning of six harmonies no one noticed all this time.’
His body trembled.
Just fourteen.
And not even three days since starting martial arts.
No, not just realized—he executed it properly.
Admiration burst forth.
“Incredible.”
Expressing genuine awe, Hyeondo leaned in, eyes sparkling.
“Precisely when did you grasp the meaning of the six harmonies? During the first form? Or swinging the sword? Or transitioning to the second form……”
Cheonhwi's brow furrowed.
His already fierce face right in front felt burdensome. Noticing late, Hyeondo coughed awkwardly and muttered.
“Ahem, got a bit excited.”
Soon, he broke into a pleased smile.
‘A true genius!’
The sword art just now overturned his 'immature' assessment.
He wanted to smack his own head for that judgment—Cheonhwi's swordsmanship was outstanding.
“When did you realize the meaning of the six harmonies?”
“From the start.”
“……!”
Hyeondo's eyes bulged.
‘From the start?’
As his mind blanked like being hit by a rock, Cheonhwi spoke.
“The transition to the next form felt terribly unnatural.”
Cheonhwi's voice rang in his ears.
“You've been practicing as taught from the beginning, so you might not notice the awkwardness, but for me, it being my first time today, I spotted it right away.”
“Blinded by familiarity.”
“The answer is often close by, so easy to miss.”
“Unexpectedly close……”!
Rumble!
Lightning struck Hyeondo's mind.
Days of charging ahead without looking aside.
He should have glanced sideways, backward at least once, but barreled forward blindly.
Narrowing his view.
Blind even to what's right beside him.
‘Impatience blinded me.’
Smooth—
Carefully setting down his sword, Hyeondo sat cross-legged on the spot.
‘I thought reaching the Heavenly Martial Realm required perfecting the Great Taeyi Bewildering Art. But must it be perfected? Perhaps I've already reached it but overlooked, fixated on that one thing……’
Cheonhwi stared at the suddenly seated Hyeondo, brow furrowed.
An ominous aura emanated from Hyeondo, deep in trance, regulating his breathing.
“……Only benefiting others.”
Cheonhwi muttered, stroking his chin.
Smooth, unlike the bearded chin of old.
Soon, he grimaced and turned away.
“Looks like it'll take time. Shall I practice the sword arts from the Ten Thousand Scriptures Pavilion until he wakes?”
Deciding to stand guard while waiting, Cheonhwi gripped the wooden sword again.
Grip—
With it, he recalled Mount Hua Sect's representative sword arts and those lost, recorded only in the Mount Hua Chronicles.
Whoosh— whoosh—
The wooden sword moved accordingly.
Two hours later.
Flash!
Hyeondo's eyes snapped open, gleaming fiercely. The brilliant light from uncontrolled inner power gradually dulled.
His blurred focus sharpened, returning to normal.
“Finally……”
Hyeondo clenched his fists.
After two years of almost reaching, he stepped into that realm.
Then Cheonhwi entered his view.
Holding the wooden sword in small hands, Cheonhwi looked bored.
“How much time passed?”
“About two hours.”
Cheonhwi replied lazily.
Indeed, the trance lasted longer than expected.
Despite Cheonhwi's reaction, Hyeondo smiled and stood.
“Hahaha. Thanks to you.”
Cheonhwi watched him approach with a soft smile.
His smile looks off on that face.
Hyeondo meant well, but it appeared otherwise.
The raised corners made the scar writhe, deepening the wrinkles.
Like the sinister grin of a ghost demon before killing.
Utterly unaware of his expression, Hyeondo spoke unusually softly.
“Thank you.”
Sincere gratitude, but Cheonhwi remained indifferent.
Rude, yet Hyeondo—smitten—saw it as shyness.
Gazing warmly at Cheonhwi briefly, Hyeondo threw his head back and laughed skyward.
“Hahahaha. To send such a treasure—Heaven hasn't abandoned our sect yet.”
Hyeondo couldn't hide his joy.
But only for a moment.
“Not the time. Must tell Sect Leader Senior Brother this joyous news!”
Recalling something forgotten, Hyeondo shouted, then looked at Cheonhwi.
With an eye smile, he said.
“I'll explain well to Senior Brother!”
“Huh?”
Cheonhwi looked blank.
But before he could react, Hyeondo kicked off the ground and vanished.
Staring at the dust, Cheonhwi muttered in confusion.
“What the hell?”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Purple霞 Pavilion.
The current Sect Leader of Mount Hua Sect, Hyeonsang, sipped tea with white steam rising gently in the dwelling of successive leaders.
‘This Five Mountains Conference will decide how our sect is viewed in the Central Plains for the next four years.’
Held every twenty years, he paid extra attention.
Convinced the Finance Hall Leader to fund rebuilding Plum Fragrance Hall lavishly, repaired and decorated many places.
All preparations complete.
The only regret: most Plum Blossom Sword Guards absent.
Since the worst bloodbath eight years ago, Mount Hua's position in the Murim Alliance had narrowed.
Other sects eyed their place covetously, so he sent the elite-equivalent Plum Blossom Sword Guards and junior brother Hyeonjin to the Alliance.
To show Mount Hua remained strong.
Thus, even for the Five Mountains Conference, he couldn't call them back.
‘No, it might be an opportunity. If our sect shows strength without the Plum Blossom Sword Guards……’
Lost in thought, then—
Bang!
The door burst open, orange sunset spilling in.
“Senior Brother!”
Hyeondo appeared through the sunset. Hyeonsang gazed at him standing neatly before him and spoke.
“What urgent……”
Mid-sentence, he gasped.
Hyeondo was there.
Yet no presence.
That meant one thing.
“R-Return to Simplicity?!”
Hyeondo smiled faintly.
Seeing the meaningful smile, Hyeonsang asked urgently.
“You broke through the wall?”
Hyeondo nodded.
“Finally……”
Overcome with emotion, Hyeonsang stood.
“Not the time. Must tell everyone you broke through.”
Like brothers, Hyeonsang echoed Hyeondo's words. As he moved to rush out and share the good news—
“Senior Brother.”
Hyeondo blocked him.
“Something more important.”
“What? You've reached the Heavenly Martial Realm—how could anything be more important?”
“No. There is.”
Hyeonsang hardened at Hyeondo's resolute eyes and firm tone, asking.
“What……”
“Cheonhwi is a genius!”
“……What?”
As Hyeonsang lost words at the interrupting declaration—
“Not just any genius—the world's greatest, no, the greatest through the ages!”
Hyeondo's shout shook Purple霞 Pavilion.